I did my grad work at a state school so I got a pension <3

Wow I was a chump choosing my school :(

Send your money to me... I will keep it safe.

Hopefully if you have a matching offer from your company, you fully fund it annually. You have a tremendous amount of time, but you will need to tap the assets and the deferred taxes are a huge plus

Chase acct#11100011110008

What Ssoren said. My $0.02 is that micromanaging 401Ks is not worth it. Pick a fund that is targeted to mature when you want to retire, and plow money into it. You want to be more aggressive when you are younger, and more conservative the closer you get to cashing out, is the theory, so they change the portfolio over time.

Yeah I make sure to fully exhaust my company's matching program.

Then get some real estate.

Fund alternative to 401Ks?

Money market funds are a good bet you should look towards them, but if you're investment-savvy then you might want to observe the stock market for a few months, then begin investment planning. Consulting professionals is smart, but there are a lot of fraudulent practices so when in doubt, don't get a broker. Although it may ease your mind, it's generally a false sense of security. If you do stock investing, learn how to handle it yourself, and be careful.

Any good advisor should tell you to take mitigated risk in a retirement account. It's not a good place for too much risk. Slow steady growth is want your looking for. Compounded interest and And time are you friends

"Then get some real estate."

I own a condo.

"Money market funds are a good bet you should look towards them,"

I'm pretty sure a MM won't even keep up with inflation...

Yanik...aren't you in high school?

I'm about to set up my own 401k myself. After I do a little budgeting to see if I can afford it (Match up to 10%) I plan on maxing as much as I can. Big question is, though, do I put it in as a Roth (taxes now) or not?

The is something to be said for a Roth. Yes taxes are up front but the growth is tax free. Is such a case, a little more risk my be a pleasant surprise for retirement.

@gold

You would contribute beyond your company's match before short-term savings?

No, no. I'm seeing if I can afford to match all the way to 10% lol

OK That makes a lot more sense. 10% match is wicked awesome.

@ssorenn - yeah, I was thinking that (currently it is in a Roth) but then again, I won't have an income once I'm retired, so whatever I withdraw could put me in a lower tax bracket than its getting taxed at while I put it in.

That's government for ya, abge :)

re: Roth. The way I figure, even if you're in a "lower" tax bracket in retirement, taxes will probably only go up overall in 50 years or so. So, you probably still make out with the Roth. Also, I think the Roth cap is quite low, so it likely won't be your only fund anyway.

"That's government for ya, abge :)"

Oh, so that 10% is really more like 3% when you adjust for the lower wages : )

Please be clear here, the only reason to be in stocks at the current time in a retirement account is the fact that fixed income nets less than inflation at the moment. When that shifts, much better to own fixed income in retirement accounts. It's supposed to be safe money.

Once rates start going back up, what do you recommend? Bonds, CDs? A mix of the best rates? I didn't have money the last time rates were any good, so I have much less experience with these.

CDs are for short term placement if you plan to use the assets soon. Short to medium term US bonds are the place to be. The risk of rates going higher is much greater. If you get caught with 10 year paper at 3-4 % and short term rates go to 3%, you can always hold the asset to maturity but you will end behind inflation.

20 year mortgage that's important that's a great deal

??

short sell bonds are ok, but another method is staggering CDs.

buy one at 5 years
one at 4 years
one at 3 years
one at 2 years
one at a year
one at 6 months

once the CD expires, reconsider investment, and potentially reinvest in CDs. that's a common method.

PS yeah MM funds are just to keep up with inflation: right now inflation rates are staggering around 1%, and most MM funds you can get for above that.

short term bonds are another method that are safe, but not high in return.


I'm not gong to advise you for anything risky. Right now the entire stock market is spinning on a dime with every Fed announcement, and the Auto loan industry is in a HUGE bubble. it won't hit as bad as the housing crash, but once it does hit, there are going to be some prime prices you could get. i know a lot of investors a few years back where sidelining there money expecting a crash that never really unfolded, but there are signs of another dip upcoming. but whatever. nobody predicts this stuff 100%.

@James,

You understand I'm talking about retirement investing, right? I don't plan to (and *can't* without tax penalties) withdraw this money for 40 years.

Ok

Also don't forget:

paying off debt is a form of investment. if you have a debt at higher rate than any investment you have available, then paying money into it in a larger sum than usual will actually be VERY beneficial long run.

if you don't have debt though, good for you. I meanwhile am in college. enough said.